momagri, movement for a world agricultural organization, is a think tank chaired by Christian Pèes.It brings together, managers from the agricultural world and important people from external perspectives, such as health, development, strategy and defense. Its objective is to promote regulationof agricultural markets by creating new evaluation tools, such as economic models and indicators,and by drawing up proposals for an agricultural and international food policy.

The TTIP, invited along as part of the US campaign

April 11, 2016

Is Europe more catholic than the pope by forcing negotiations on the transatlantic partnership? Because though in America the TTIP has become part of the US presidential campaign, enthusiasm for the partnership is far from unanimous among candidates, a far cry from the idea of America as the flag-bearer for economic liberalism.

With the exception of Hillary Clinton who is more reserved, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are vehemently opposed to the TTIP. For Donald Trump it would do nothing more than facilitate a European strike against the US economy. The Republican candidate particularly advocates reinforcing customs duties to promote US production1.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Bernie Sanders says the same thing. Such agreements are a “disaster for American workers” and contribute to a “levelling down”, beneficial to large enterprises, says the socialist senator2.

Even Hillary Clinton, in an interview with PBS NewsHour in October 2015, said that free trade agreements “often look fantastic on paper” but the results did not always “measure up”, these agreements have not had the “desired results in terms of market access, increased exports, etc”3.

This change of tone compared to Obama, deeply involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, could lead to questioning the ongoing trade negotiations with the EU.

This mistrust of free trade agreements, the TTIP in particular, reflects the mindset of some of the American population who criticize its lack of transparency. As for farmers, as reported by the Economic Service of the Embassy of France to the United States, the National Federation of Milk Producers (NMPF) in early March contested the TTIP by passing a resolution opposing the continuation of negotiations on the grounds of “Europe’s systematic refusal to lift barriers on US dairy exports”. The fact that these points have not been resolved in the TTIP, they believe, will exacerbate the existing deficit in trade in dairy produce between the United States and the European Union by over a billion dollars4.

Discontent is growing among the population of EU-member states. In addition to the mobilization of civil society, particularly in Germany, it is also farmers who are mobilizing as European agriculture could be the biggest loser in the Commission’s gambit strategy. The publication of an impact study published in late 2015 by the USDA confirms these concerns. This particular study analyzes two scenarios from the elimination of customs duties to the removal of non-tariff measures. The conclusion by the American experts gives reason to the fears for European agriculture: the results of such a partnership on agriculture would be very positive for the United States and much less so for the European Union5.

However, the European Commission remains eager to enter into this partnership and wants to accelerate negotiations at the approach of the next round which will begin on 25th April in New York. For the economist Thomas Porcher, this stance is due to “an almost religious belief” among many European leaders “in the benefits of free trade even though the facts demonstrate that the opening of an economy can harm the development of certain sectors”6.

Finally, given the forecast for agricultural markets being depressed for at least 3 to 5 years to come, as recently announced by Cargill7, and the low probability of the signing and ratification of a hypothetical transatlantic bilateral agreement, Europe and the United States should focus more on improving the global governance of agricultural policies, whether within the G20 or the WTO.